ABD Fighting Fund appeal
Discussion
You may have noticed this post on GG and SPL 
You may also have noticed some other PH threads, mostly on SPL, where law-abiding drivers are facing prosecution from improperly introduced or signed speed limits or potentially inaccurate speed measuring devices. Some motorists have successfully defended their innocence, but other 'innocent' drivers have lost their cases and been convicted. The Association of British Drivers has supported some of the high profile cases which you may have read about, but has backed others too.
We don't support every claimed instance of rough justice, but we DO want to support drivers where specialist advice suggests that there is a problem unresolved, or a clarification of the legal position is needed. Doing so successfully depends on the state of our Fighting Fund. Last year we gave just over £6,000 to help drivers defend unreasonable charges or lodge appeals against unsound convictions.
Next year there are some important cases coming to Court, and £4,000 has already been committed. Your contribution to the ABD Fighting Fund is vital if we are to continue defending wrongfully prosecuted drivers. Your donations will be much appreciated and wisely spent - not on the ABD, but in support of drivers who can’t afford the cost of justice.
In addition to this appeal on PH, which has Ted's prior approval, we are also appealing to our members in 'On The Road', the ABD’s journal. You can make a donation at any time to the Fighting Fund on-line and you can join securely on-line as well.
Thank you.
You may also have noticed some other PH threads, mostly on SPL, where law-abiding drivers are facing prosecution from improperly introduced or signed speed limits or potentially inaccurate speed measuring devices. Some motorists have successfully defended their innocence, but other 'innocent' drivers have lost their cases and been convicted. The Association of British Drivers has supported some of the high profile cases which you may have read about, but has backed others too. We don't support every claimed instance of rough justice, but we DO want to support drivers where specialist advice suggests that there is a problem unresolved, or a clarification of the legal position is needed. Doing so successfully depends on the state of our Fighting Fund. Last year we gave just over £6,000 to help drivers defend unreasonable charges or lodge appeals against unsound convictions.
Next year there are some important cases coming to Court, and £4,000 has already been committed. Your contribution to the ABD Fighting Fund is vital if we are to continue defending wrongfully prosecuted drivers. Your donations will be much appreciated and wisely spent - not on the ABD, but in support of drivers who can’t afford the cost of justice.
In addition to this appeal on PH, which has Ted's prior approval, we are also appealing to our members in 'On The Road', the ABD’s journal. You can make a donation at any time to the Fighting Fund on-line and you can join securely on-line as well.
Thank you.
carrera2 said:Everyone is entitled to a view on this, but that's a curious take on things. Other people who can't afford it shouldn't be helped to take their case forward, but if your time came and you were being prosecuted in a situation where error(s) by the authorities made it genuinely difficult to decide what the true speed limit was, and where it started or ended, or the alleged speed was demonstrably in error, you'd be glad you kept some money for that very purpose?
No thanks, why would I want to pay for others to appeal against the system, however wrong YOU think it maybe?
I'll keep my money in case I want to appeal I think.
For others who may still be considering making a donation it may be worth pointing out that it's not a matter of appealing against the system, but against possible abuse / misuse of the system. It doesn't happen when the ABD thinks 'it' is 'wrong' but when independent experts suggest it may well be wrong. The kind of donation requested on the Fighting Fund appeal webpage is £2 up, which is considerably less than the cost of an appeal, but with donations from others on PH and elsewhere it could amount to such a sum. This is about providing help to someone who couldn't afford to seek justice on their own.
telephone call to the ABD this morning said:
Can you help? An elderly person has had his car impounded because he had no insurance. The man actually did have insurance but the details didn't show on the police database
Not the usual speeding fodder but someone vulnerable is feeling victimised right now.
This is becoming more and more important. As the authorities rely on computerised systems, the problems with innocent people being found "guilty" is a growing issue. If the journalist I was speaking to at the weekend was right, and the DVLA computer is only 40% accurate, there's an awful lot of rubbish in the system. I don't think it's going to be too long before that system starts picking innocent people up - and we've seen from TfL and Capita in London with the Con Charge that it's now "guilty until proven innocent". A fund like this is going to be awfully important in the future. And let's face it, justice costs nowadays. Individually you can't afford to fight a court case, not when the prosecution will be funded from the bottomless public purse. Collectively, we can.
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